Cannes Film Festival begins

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The Cannes film festival officially kicked off with the jury, headed by French actress Isabelle Huppert, attending the red carpet ceremony on Wednesday. The festival's 62nd edition is expected to feature fewer of the celebrity-driven events that have been its hallmark, as studios cut budgets in the recession. But the glamour of Cannes remains a powerful magnet for the industry.

There are several familiar faces from previous Cannes festivals in the 20-strong competition list, including several past winners of the coveted Palme d'Or award, from Quentin Tarantino to Ken Loach and New Zealand's Jane Campion.

The competition is likely to be fierce, with some of the world's top film directors and producers showing films on the Croisette.

Tarantino, back with his World War Two movie "Inglorious Bastards" with Brad Pitt, has attracted much of the early buzz.

But there are plenty of other stars, including Penelope Cruz who stars in Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces" and former France and Manchester United soccer star Eric Cantona who appears as himself in Loach's "Looking for Eric".

Campion brings "Bright Star" based on the romance between 19th century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, while Lars von Trier is presenting a horror movie called "Antichrist".

Other highlights include Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock" about the rock festival.

Of the competition, Terry Gilliam has perhaps the biggest movie in Cannes. "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" is the late Australian actor Heath Ledger's final screen role, which had to be completed by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law.